Last week, “Dirty Jobs” host Mike Rowe responded to a question on Facebook asking him why, if he has been vaccinated against COVID19 and believes in the vaccine, he isn’t actively trying to use his considerable platform to encourage others to get vaccinated.
Rowe explained that people who haven’t yet been vaccinated are unlikely to have their minds changed by him, particularly given the media’s condescending approach toward the unvaccinated. On top of that, as Rowe pointed out, the media, as well as politicians and so-called “medical experts,” have spent the last year and a half shifting the goal posts and encouraging vaccine skepticism, rather than vaccine confidence.
Here’s Rowe’s post again:
Needless to say, the condescending know-it-alls are not pleased with Rowe’s honest assessment of their attitudes. Take The Bulwark’s Jonathan Last, for example. Friday night, The Bulwark published what can only be described as an ignorant, malicious hit piece on Rowe:
The voice of the working class goes anti-anti-anti-vaxx.
https://t.co/A1XR3aerIF— The Bulwark (@BulwarkOnline) August 7, 2021
Based on that tweet alone, you know the piece is going to be garbage. But then you actually read the piece and realize that it’s not just garbage, but an all-out dumpster fire.
Last writes:
Mike Rowe—the famous real man, dirty-jobbing, tough guy—is trying to pioneer a new lane in political discourse: anti-anti-anti-vaxx.
In a Facebook post this week, Rowe decided to answer a question from one of his fans. The gentleman asked why, since Rowe had gotten a COVID vaccine, he had not used his platform to urge others to do so.
Rowe’s response is worth reading in full, because it is either an example of despicable dishonesty or breathtaking stupidity.
That last bit is some weapons-grade projection from Last. The bulk of Last’s piece is concerned with addressing Rowe’s points “one by one,” yet he ultimately can’t dispute Rowe’s point that the politicians, media, and “medical experts” screwed up, and, in refusing to own up to it, continued to make things worse.
Well, as you can imagine, Rowe also has some thoughts on Last’s piece.
Mike Rowe went line by line responding to the recent hit piece from JVL: https://t.co/wHzTHFUSW4
When you write out of anger and try to caricature everyone who disagrees with you, you end up with some very weak and easily refutable arguments. (Ht @Bmac0507)
— AG (@AGHamilton29) August 9, 2021
Fortunately, Mike Rowe is used to dealing with sh*t, both literally and figuratively.
The Bullwork is a collection of refuse kind enough to self-eject fm the Right@JVLast tried to fling some poo toward a powerful piece by @mikeroweworks on health policy
Rowe is used to shoveling sh*t & sent it all right back in Last's facehttps://t.co/s75wi92H2E
— Jim Hanson (@JimHansonDC) August 9, 2021
And how:
In case you’re short on time, (a) make time to read the whole thing later, and (b) here’s how Rowe’s response began:
Along with “despicable dishonesty and breathtaking stupidity,” I’d like to offer a few additional options for you readers to consider. How about, “a refreshingly honest take on a controversial issue,” or “a thoughtful series of observations wrapped in a patina of common sense,” or maybe, “a brilliant blending of facts and inconvenient truths that leave the skeptical reader with much to consider.”
As you surely know, tens of millions of Americans are not even remotely persuaded by our current cadre of elected officials and health care experts. Obviously, the same was true when Trump was in office. Can you imagine the resistance to a vaccine today, if Donald Trump told Americans to simply “get the jab and trust the science?” It seems to me, if you want to persuade the unvaccinated to reconsider their hesitancy, you must first put yourself in their shoes, and acknowledge a few of the reasons for their skepticism.
Also, I’m puzzled by your sub-head. If “anti-vaxx” means I’m against vaccines, “anti-anti-vaxx” would mean I’m for vaccines, right? So, wouldn’t “anti-anti-anti-vaxx” mean I’m against vaccines? If so, you’re fundamentally mistaken. As I wrote in the very first paragraph, “Vaccines have saved more lives than any other advancement in the long history of medicine, and to your point, I got the shots the minute I was eligible.” I was careful to include that early on. You were careful to omit it. Understandable, given your headline, but not very fair, in my opinion.
I’m happy to let the readers make up their own minds about who’s telling the truth. But let’s be clear about what you’ve done with your little slice of the Internet. You have ignored the point of my original post, omitted key passages regarding my actual position on vaccines, written a damning and fallacious headline, and picked a fight with a guy who just reminded six million people that the overwhelming majority of Americans currently hospitalized with COVID have not been vaccinated. Oh yeah, AND told them that he got the shot as soon as he was able. That was the point of my post, Jonathan.
What was the point of yours?
We lost count of how many times Mike Rowe murdered Jonathan Last in that response. Holy moly.
Imagine thinking that Mike Rowe was the problem. Yikes.
— Chad Ragsdale (@caragsdale) August 9, 2021
Last made a fatal mistake in thinking he could take down Mike Rowe.
Mike Rowe's FB response to that article is 10/10
— Ben McDonald (@Bmac0507) August 9, 2021
This is so good pic.twitter.com/YijQEQb2YL
— Fusilli Spock (@awstar11) August 9, 2021
And this! pic.twitter.com/g24vP9CiWn
— Fusilli Spock (@awstar11) August 9, 2021
Damn….thats a take down
— Radioactive Burrito (@Troydeeogee) August 9, 2021
Now *this* is what an "evisceration" looks like, Bulwark guys.
— Jack Burden (@wahoolaw2006) August 9, 2021
My God, Mike gutted that poor bastard like a fish.
— goski (@Uintafly) August 9, 2021
Yah Mike Rowe ripped that dude about a dozen new ass holes & did it with a smile and no profanity (unlike me hah!) just dominated that putz
— Dude is Clumsy (@DudeIsClumsy) August 9, 2021
Wow! @JVLast owes @mikeroweworks an apology.
— Right In The Middle (@MDHtoo) August 9, 2021
He certainly does. Unfortunately for him, he’s probably too far up his own butt to give it.
Last isn’t worthy of cleaning Mike Rowe’s boots after he cleaned up Mrs. Frazier’s exploding toilet. https://t.co/jk8WcQt6qB
— Texas Courtney (@AlaskanCourtney) August 9, 2021
The truth is Mike Rowe is the kind of guy JVL wishes he was and pretends to be sometimes.
— Garbage Pyre (@GarbagePyre) August 9, 2021
Mike Rowe is a national treasure
— Le Fleur (@tbflowers) August 9, 2021
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